Russell Wilson: “We know that the weather could be a factor”

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson met the media today to talk about the preparation for the Super Bowl, meeting Peyton Manning in high school, Richard Sherman, and more. Here’s the official transcript of what he said:

(On his first reaction when he met Kam Chancellor…) “The first time I ever met Kam Chancellor was when I played him at Virginia Tech. He’s a great football player, tons of respect in obviously the state of Virginia but in terms of Kam Chancellor once I got here, he’s everything that he’s showed. He’s very physical, he loves the game of football, he’s very intelligent, he’s one of our leaders on our football team for sure, he’s plays with so much passion, and just loves the game of football. So you really respect that about Kam and he does his things the right way.”

(On Peyton Manning…) “Obviously Peyton Manning, Hall of Fame quarterback who I have tons of respect for. I’ve gotten to know him… I actually went to the Peyton Manning Passing Academy when I was young and I liked him so much back then and still do. The way he plays the game, he’s just a tremendous individual, he has great attention to detail, great leadership, has won a lot of games. So we’re going to have to play our best football game and we know that. We know that he’s a great football player and he leads his football team.”

(On if there is any value in watching the Preseason game against the Broncos…) “Anytime you play a team, there’s definitely value in terms of the preseason game when we played against them. Just to see their players against our guys and see them on our football field and all that and that was a great game. Even though it was a preseason game, it was a great battle. You know, we’re looking forward to it. All the games that we’ve played this season, it comes down to this one. That’s what we’re looking forward to, comes down to 1 and 0, like I’ve been saying all year. Having that championship mindset and going out there and having a great week this week. That’s the most important thing right now is having a great day today and then have a great day tomorrow and let the days add up and see what happens next week.”

(On what the most surprising thing about Peyton Manning’s Passing Academy…) “In terms of the passing academy, when I met Peyton for the first time, I mean there were thousands of kids there and I was actually in his group. Me and I think 12 or15 other guys and just how much care he showed for the kids at the time and how much detail he always talked about and how much of a perfectionist he was and I try to use that in my game. I got a long ways to go obviously, but I just try to do all the little things and that’s what he does. He takes tons of notes, he does all the right things and he puts his team in the right position to win football games.”

(On his age when he joined Peyton Manning’s Passing Academy…) “I was in 10th grade. So maybe 16 years old. Maybe 15.”

(On if he’s ever mentioned to Peyton that he attended his passing academy when he was in 10th grade…) “I saw him when I was getting drafted; the whole draft process. The Denver Broncos brought me out to Denver and he was in the locker room and he was sitting there in the locker room and I went up and talked to him and whatever and he was like, ‘Have I seen you before somewhere?’ He was like, ‘Yeah. I think I’ve seen you. Good to see you man. I’ve seen you before somewhere. Where did I know you?’ And I was like, ‘Well actually you coached me in the Manning Passing Academy.’ So I love him to death. He’s just a great person first of all and obviously a great football player. All the great accolades he has and all the big games he’s won and all that. So I have a lot of respect for him.”

(On if he ever thought about what it would be like to play with Peyton Manning had he been drafted by the Denver Broncos…) “I mean of course. I’ve never really thought about being teammates with him, but it’s one of those things that I know that in terms of his game, I try to emulate a lot of the things that he does in terms of the knowledge that he has for the game. Obviously, he can make all of the throws and all that, but his knowledge separates him from everybody else. So that’s what I’m trying to work to one day. It’ll be cool to watch him play and all that. I’ll be so focused on our football team, but I’ll probably watch a few snaps here and there, but he’s just a great football player.”

(On if he looks at Peyton Manning as an example of the perfect quarterback…) “Well you have to look at one of the best football players to ever play the game as an example in all facets of life. Obviously on the field, but also all the advertisements, like you were talking about that he does and all that, he’s just so consistent with his approach. He wants to do everything right, his brand is great. So you want to be like that.”

(On will the Seahawks’ approach to prepare for a game during a bye week change…) “Yeah. You know this week, our biggest goal is to game plan and just get everything in and make sure that we do it just like we were having a game this Sunday. That’s our mindset, we want to get prepared to play a great game and to have an extra week is big for us. We know they’re game planning too. So the biggest thing about this week is watching tons of film, noticing their guys. They play in the AFC, so we don’t get to play them all the time and just recognizing what they do extremely well and if they have any weaknesses, they don’t have many. So we’re going to have to play our best game and just noticing all those things and I think the other thing is just getting the game plan under way and making sure that we know all of the plays and making sure that we understand the concepts and all that because once we go to New York, there’s a lot of distractions, possible distractions and you want to focus on just playing the game of football. So that way, once we get there, we’ve already had one week of installation and we can go over again next week.”

(On the Broncos’ defense…) “Well their defensive front is very strong. You think about number 94 [Terrence Knighton], he’s Knighton I think that’s how you say it. He’s just a very physical football player, he causes havoc and he can do a lot of things and same with the rest of their guys. So I think the biggest thing for us is staying on schedule, being very physical at the point of attack, and when we throw the football, try to come up with some explosive plays but also making sure that we’re getting first downs and doing a great job on third down.”

(On what he thinks about the phrase ‘defense wins championships…’) “I think it’s true. I think the fact that you have to have a great defense usually to win a championship. It’s not easy to just to do it on offense and I think to get to this point, you’ve got to have at least two out of three in terms of special teams, defense, and offense. You’ve got to have at least to have two out of three to be great and obviously the Denver Broncos have all three. They’ve done a great job all year and our defense is lights out and they’ve done a tremendous job all year. To go against them every week day in and day out against our defense, to go against guys like Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Byron Maxwell, our defensive line, our linebackers, Bobby Wagner all of those guys, it’s a challenge and that makes our offense better and then it translates to our special teams too because we have a lot guys that can step in and make a lot of plays.”

(On his response to Richard Sherman’s comments after the game…) “In terms of Richard Sherman, he’s an unbelievable football player. He’s made all of the plays, he’s backed it up. I have tons of respect for him. He’s one of the most intelligent people you’ll ever meet. He plays the game of football with tons of passion, tons of fire. We’re going to the Super Bowl. It’s one of those things where he just got excited and I know he apologized and all that for all of the distractions and all that, but he’s one of those people that he’s always focused on how he can improve and he can help our football team. He’s a great teammate. So I have tons of respect for Richard. I know that he apologized and all that. So he didn’t mean to blow it all up. He was just so excited that he played such a great game and he made a huge play for us.”

(On if he watched Sherman’s interview…) “I saw some of the interview just because it’s all over, but I try not to pay attention to be honest with you. In try to literally ignore the noise. I literally try not to watch much ESPN or any of that, especially in a big game like this. It’s one of those things that you try to keep your focus on our football team and I know Richard is always focused on our football team and what he can do to help our football team win games.”

(On if the media reaction to Sherman’s interview have been a distraction here…) “No it hasn’t been a distraction. Our football team is so focused on what we can do to play a great football game come next Sunday.”

(On if he’s surprised about how misunderstood Sherman is to the media and fans…) “Well Richard Sherman has tremendous character, he really does. He got fired up and I guess you can call it a mistake or whatever. I don’t know. It’s just one of things that he’s just so passionate about the game of football. I know that’s not he is on a regular basis, from day in and day out. He’s literally one of the most intelligent people that you’ll ever meet and he can make all of the plays, he backs it up with his play, he’s done it every day in practice and in games, and he’s an All-Pro player and he has tons of respect across the league. So I definitely respect Richard Sherman, he’s one of my good friends. So I love him to death.”

(On if he’s reached out to people who have played in the Super Bowl in the past…) “Yeah I’ve talked to several players who have played in the Super Bowl before in the past and several quarterbacks and all that. So it’s going to be a great game. At the end of the day, it comes down to just exciting your plays and being focused, eliminating distractions especially once you get there, getting all the tickets out of the way, getting family situated earlier in the week, that’s already done for me. I got that done on Monday. So everything is kind of really consistent with me right now. So I’m really looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to this week; I’m looking forward to today’s practice. It’s going to be a great day for practice. So I’m fired up about that.”

(On which players he had spoken to about what it’s like to be in the Super Bowl…) “I talked to Drew Brees and I’ve talked to a couple of other players. So I’ve talked to some guys that have done a great job in big games and all that. So I’ve talked to some players too last year and I actually went to the Super Bowl last year just to get a feel for it. I remember last year when we had lost to Atlanta, I ended up going to the Super Bowl after the Pro Bowl and all that and that was one of the things that I wanted to pay attention to and I think one of the biggest things as players and as a quarterback and all that, you have to understand the difference in time. In terms of the week of preparation and all that but also the game. The game, you have all the warm-ups like you normally do. But then you have people singing and all that kind of stuff. So it takes another extra 25 to 30 minutes sometimes and that’s the great part about it, that’s the emotional part about it all. But, you also have to understand not getting warmed up too early, not getting too fired up, not getting too amped up too early and all that and then also you think about half time. You think about the 35-45 minute half time plus last year, with the whole lights going out and all that. So that’s one of the things to think about as well. Just being in the moment and just relaxing as much as possible and going out there and playing a great game.”

(On if the ball that was thrown to Jermaine Kearse was intentionally being thrown to him or was he throwing the ball to Doug Baldwin…) “Yeah on the fourth and seven, I was throwing it to Jermaine. I had guys going vertical. Doug was just attempting to go after the ball too. Just to make sure that someone called it. It was one of those plays that we felt like it was going to be a touchdown. Jermaine Kearse did a tremendous job of attacking the football and he’s done that all year for us.”

(On how quickly he started preparing for the Denver Broncos and if he celebrated the win after the game…) “Yeah I took some time to celebrate on Sunday night. I went to dinner, I went to Metropolitan Grill and did that and just had a good time listening to some Frank Sinatra. But other than that, I got pretty focused right away.”

(On if he stayed for the whole Super Bowl last year…) “Yeah I stayed for the game last year. I watched the whole game and watched the pre-game and all that last year at the Super Bowl and I really wanted to get a feel for it. Just in case we were here and I believed that we would be and sure enough, we are.”

(On how he balances giving into the distractions and eliminating the distractions…) “Yeah I think I definitely try to eliminate as many distractions as possible and make sure that the biggest thing is my study time. Making sure that my study time is that much more and making sure that I’m going to quiet place and try to study like I normally do. I think the other thing is you have to have respect for what the situation is. You have to be able to adjust. When you’re playing in big games like this, this is the ultimate game. It’s the Super Bowl. You look forward to those moments. So you enjoy those moments too, you take all that in, but you also keep your focus on the main thing and that’s winning the football game and making sure that your details are correct and your execution and your mindset is right and ready to go.”

(On what it would mean for his career to win the Super Bowl…) “The thing I’ve thought about more than anything is what it’ll do for this organization. We want to win a Super Bowl and we want to be the first ones to win it in our organization and that’s kind of our mindset. We believed that we could get, we’re here and now it’s time to go out there and just play 1 and 0. I think for obviously for Peyton’s legacy, it’s unbelievable. All of the things he’s that he’s done, I believe he’s a four-time, maybe a five-time MVP after his year if he wins, which I think he should and all the those things that he’s done are pretty miraculous. So for me, I just took one year at a time and obviously to win a Super Bowl, that’s the thing you want to win most. Every year you go into it, you want to win a Super Bowl. But to get there, it’s a lot of teamwork, it’s a lot of hard work, it’s a lot of execution, it’s a lot of great play and clutch play in certain situations and I’m looking forward to that. I’m not going to shy away from it man. This is what I believe one of the reasons that I can throw a football is to be here in these big situations and help our football team win games.”

(On Percy Harvin’s impact to the offense…) “In terms of Percy Harvin and what he can do for our football team and teams trying to stop him. It’s really hard to stop him because he can run the football, he can catch the football extremely well, obviously his kick returning ability is unbelievable. So he causes matchup problems for people. So in terms of what teams will try to do, it’s hard to figure out how they can stop it because some teams want to go one high and then you got him going by people and then teams go too high and then we can run the football with Marshawn [Lynch] or even Percy or Robert Turbin and all the different things we can do. So I think the thing with us is we want to be versatile, we want to be able to change the script a little bit, mess with the defense, make them think a little bit, and do the things that put our players in the best situations possible and to have Percy Harvin back out on the field if that’s the case, that’s really exciting. He can make a lot of plays, he can do a lot of special things, and he brings a certain element to the game that not too many people can bring and that’s speed and that fear factor is definitely alive.”

(On if it’s a good thing to not have any players on the roster that have never been to the Super Bowl…) “In terms of not having any players on a Super Bowl ever before, I think it shows how good our football team really is. Our football team is extremely young. We’re one of the youngest football team in the National Football League and to be where we are right now, one of our things is we want to win a lot of Super Bowls and to do that, you have to win the first one and we’re excited about that. All of our guys are fired up. I think we have a certain itch to us and we know on the other side, they have players that have won the Super Bowl and been to the Super Bowl and big games like that. So we know that they’re going to prepare the right way, they’re going to understand how to prepare. So we’re going to have to listen to our coaches and try to learn as much as we can and just get prepared however is best for us. I think for us, it’s the details, it’s the excitement too. It’s the energy, it’s the swagger that we try to bring to the games, and our fans too as well. So we’re going to be us, we’re not going to change. I think at the end of the day, with all the cameras and all the lights and all that, it’s no different. It really isn’t. At the end of the day, the whistle is still going to blow, it’s still going to be first, second, and third down, and it’s still going to be the game on the line and we’re looking forward to those moments.”

(On how his faith carries into his preparation for next week…) “In terms of my faith, I believe that I’m here for a reason. That’s what I told the guys last week. I believe that we’re in the NFC Championship for a reason; I believe that God placed me in this city for a reason. So I’m going to trust that. That never waivers for me. I’m going to trust that the Lord has put me here for a reason and that the guys that we have are the right guys. I believe in our coaching staff, I believe in our fans, I believe in everything that we have ad at the end of the day, I trust the God given ability that I have and I’m not going to ever waiver. I’m not ever going to waiver in that idea. I trust in what I can don and my preparation and I’m excited about the game. I’m excited about it, I’m excited about the moment, about playing one play at a time, just like always and hopefully it’s the best 60 minutes of my life.”

(On how much the Seahawks have considered the weather into their game plan…) “We know that the weather could be a factor. So obviously it’s been snowing like crazy. I have tons of family back on the east coast and they’re letting me know that its 12 inches of snow right now. But hopefully that’ll pass over, hopefully that’ll go away. If not, then we’re going to have to play in it and it’ll always be fun to play in the snow.”

(On how many games he has played in the snow…) “I’ve played in one I believe.”

(On what his mother means to him…) “My mom has meant everything to me. My mom and my dad. Just my mom, she’s so consistent with her faith. She just shows me so much love all the time. So I have so much respect for her and she always believes in me. Both of my parents always did. So I’ve always believed that I would be here. If you’d asked the people that are in my small circle, they’ve always believed in me, they’ve always believed that I would get here. So I’m not surprised and my mom isn’t surprised or anything like that, just the trust in my god given ability.”

(On Jermaine Kearse…) “Jermaine Kearse is the ultimate teammate man. He does everything right, he’s so physical, he’s fast, can make all the catches, has great knowledge of the game, he just believes in his talent and that was one of the guys that I said at the beginning of the year that I thought was going to be lights out for us and can make a lot of big plays and big exceptional for us all; year. I’ve really noticed that in this off season and then rookie minicamp when I was with him, I just noticed he caught the football. So to have Jermaine Kearse on our football team and all things that he can do on special teams, with our offense, whether if it’s catching it, running it, blocking, he’s a great football player and also a great teammate because he lifts everybody else up in the locker room.”

(On when his one snow game was…) “I was in college. I honestly don’t remember. I don’t remember. Can’t think back that far.”